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05/23/2061
Here comes the champ! After a 6-1 week the Exports are tops in the Power Rankings and blew open the Lager with a now six game lead over second place Toronto. With a sweep of those Canadians and taking three of four against Indy, Montreal is still the team to beat in the Domestic. The next best week was had by Maine, who went 5-1. Remember when they were 3-14? We do. Now the Guides are 24-22 and in third place in the Ale. Never, ever, give up. California, Windy City, and Syracuse also had nice weeks as they all went 5-2. On the other side of life Denver and Hartford went 1-6. Baseball giveth, and it taketh away.
Power Rankings
1) Montreal Exports (123.0, ++)
2) Phoenix Roadrunners (120.4, +)
3) Washington Bats (119.7, -)
4) Baltimore Bulldogs (116.4, --)
5) Pawtucket Patriots (116.0, -)
6) Syracuse Snappers (115.0, +)
7) New York Cyclones (107.0, -)
8) Maine Guides (99.9, +)
9) Denver Bulls (90.7, -)
10) Windy City Blues (89.1, ++)
11) Wilmington Wildcats (87.0, o)
12) Toronto Canadians (86.9, --)
13) California Kodiaks (85.0, ++)
14) Pittsburgh Millers (84.2, +)
15) New Orleans Voodoo (84.1, --)
16) Batavia Muckdogs (83.0, +)
17) Carolina Tobs (76.0, ++)
18) Dallas Drillers (76.0, --)
19) Seattle Pilots (75.0, ++)
20) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (74.3, --)
21) Philadelphia Freedom (73.3, -)
22) Indianapolis Clowns (69.8, -)
23) Los Angeles Dinos (64.0, o)
24) Hartford Whalers (47.0, o)
Performance of the Week
LF Spencer Buccheri - The 22 year old had quite a day on May 20th against the Canadians. He racked up four hits, hit two home runs, drove in an amazing nine runs, and scored three times as the Snappers won 11-6. The highlight of the game came in the fourth inning, with Syracuse already up 5-0, Buccheri smashed a cutter to right for a grand slam to bust the game wide open. On the season he's hitting .286 with 7 HR and 32 RBI.
Prospect of the Week
LF Alec Boersen - He was the second pick of last years draft (Alex Cain was 1.1), and at only 18 years old still has a while to go. Don't tell him that though as he's absolutely dominating the poor pitchers in the Rookie League. In 35 games he's already cranked 18 home runs while boasting a .333/.388/.568 stat line. He's also one of the fastest and most intuitive players we've seen on the base paths in a long time as he's swiped 31 bases in 34 tries this season. Goodness the skies the limit.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. We'd be remiss if we didn't congratulate Blake Yost on his performance two days ago against Wilmington. Over eight innings he allowed one hit, no runs, no walks, and struck out 14 as Hartford won 2-1. The only hit he allowed was in the second inning to Tyson Dodd. Yost ended up striking out the next two batters, after striking out the batter before Dodd, to end that inning. Yost's game score of 93 was the best pitching performance of the season and he set the Whalers single game record for strikeouts in the process. Originally a 5th round pick back in 2049, he's played for Hartford his entire career and is the fan favorite of the team. He's started five games this season and is 1-1 with a 4.93 ERA and 1.36 WHIP.
2. Rory Elia Jr. didn't take long to make an impression in the Import. On Friday against Washington he had three hits, two home runs, and drove in five as California pounded the Bats 16-4. With his Hall of Fame dad in attendance it was a special occasion for the 20 year old. On the day he doubled in the second, homered in the third, and homered again in the sixth. It was the 24th best hitting performance of the season and Jr is now hitting .250 with 4 HR and 10 RBI in 12 games.
3. We said it before but there's speed and then there's instincts when you're stealing bases, and Efren 'Legacy' Zamora has plenty of the later. This season he's swiped 19 bases while only being thrown out three times. On Friday against Carolina he got an amazing five of those nineteen in one day. He's now tied in the Import with eight other players for the most in a single game. As the leadoff hitter he singled to start the game, then stole second and third. Sadly his instincts let him down as he was gunned down at home by Carolina outfielder Felton Kirt after a pop fly to center. In the top of the fourth he led off with a double, then stole third. This time he was stranded there to end the inning. Then in the sixth he once again led off with a single, and stole second and third before scoring on a deep fly ball. In the end Carolina won 7-3 so it was all for naught, but still quite impressive. Do you know who holds the record for most stolen bases in a single game?
Spoiler
4. At 21 years old we're just going to say he's arrived as catcher Andy 'Turk' Christman is lighting up the BLB. The Exports used two horrible back-to-back seasons (in 2055 they won 59 games, 2056 they won 48 games) to scoop up Teddy Burch in 2056 and Christman in 2057. The next season they promptly won 96 games and went back to the playoffs. Then they won 80 games in 2058, 90 games in 2059 and 91 in 2060 when they captured their fourth Brewmasters Cup. Talk about a quick rebuild. Back to Christman though. This season he's hitting .317/.434/.615 with 8 HR, 23 RBI and a 172 OPS+ in 35 games. He's also already the best offensive catcher the league has seen in years, maybe decades. The last guy we can remember making such an impact might be Ian 'Pickles' James who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2044. Ironically the last season he played in the BLB was for none other than the Montreal Exports in 2039. The then 36 year old, who could barely squat down behind home anymore, hit .261 with 20 HR and 81 RBI while playing in 148 games. Legendary.
5. What's on tap? How about a 1v1 as Washington takes the best record in the league (31-16) to the desert to battle the 30-16 Roadrunners. This will be the first time these two have tangled this season after Phoenix knocked Washington out of the playoffs in the Divisional Series four games to three last year. We also get to see first place Montreal (29-16) host first place Pawtucket (28-17). To be fair the Patriots and Snappers are tied atop the Ale, so we'll call it a 1v1A. Streak wise no team has won or lost more than four, while Nickolas Kennedy (SEA) has an 18 game hitting streak going.
Stat of the Week
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| More Triples Than Home Runs (Top 25 Players) |
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